Demon Slayer - Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc

It took me an awfully long time to figure out what others saw in this show. It just came across like it was just a mediocre shonen for the first half or so of the season. There is a very loud main male protagonist and a rather obvious narrative, and on top of that Zenitsu shows up, a character whose voice could wake the dead, and whose cowardly nature I found incredibly irritating more than, say, Usopp in One Piece. It was so bad that I even considered just dropping it. During the first ten or so episodes, I only found two fight scenes interesting (the one in the first episode and then the one in the examination) and I only really found Nezuko likable. She is amazing just because she doesn't speak most of the time (which is refreshing because of the loudness of others) and then from nowhere occasionally pulls some unforgettably funny faces. In addition to that, she is helping her brother fight and also fighting her own demon curse, so I have to admire her. I probably do not even need to start on how incredibly adorable she is... It is simply impossible not to like Nezuko! I also became impressed with how they executed the showdown with the two demons. Then there was a fight with a certain demon in a house that was constantly transforming with the rooms rotating, and I suddenly noticed the incredibly elaborate camera work and the attention to detail - I found myself being really entertained. I not only really enjoyed just what was happening on screen, I was mostly impressed by how well it was portrayed. The main male protagonist was also very likable. I liked the fact his motivation was not as vague as simply being the best of the best, or just killing everything in his path, and that his motivation was simply to help his sister. I also noticed that while he does have a certain amount of compassion for his opponents, he firmly knows what his duty is and that while on the one hand, he feels sorry for the demons (and their stories are often sad), he still realizes that they are monsters who, unlike his sister, killed people, and I approve of that particular point of view. Inosuke was another addition to the team - the boy with the boar's head, and although I did not like him much at first, in the end I have to say that I actually like this anime version of Leeroy Jenkins quite a lot. What is more, Inosuke is probably in the funniest scene of the whole anime series (the part where he runs away from the enemy and suddenly realizes that it is completely against his character...). The battle with the spiders which followed meant I was definitely convinced that this anime series probably has the most spectacular fight scenes I have ever seen! The scene with Tanjiro fighting Rui is pure graphic art with a great sense of tension, atmosphere, aesthetics, and color... In other words, fight scenes produced at this level with dynamic camerawork, following the movements of characters (or even rotating rooms) and absolutely beautiful shots from completely unexpected angles, could only be done by studio Ufotable! They are on the top in quality of animation and only one who is on par with them is probably WIT Studio (as they did in Attack on Titan where, for example, there is the legendary scene where "Levi arrives at the bar", or his attack on the group led by The Beast Titan, and, of course, Vinland Saga). That sequence when Tanjiro makes his final attack with Nezuko is just so beautiful! That is when I increased the rating and started enjoying every shot (for example, watching the last episode today, I had a visual orgasm again). So Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is really perfect concerning its soundtrack and the graphics, in some parts one of the most visually stunning anime series I have ever seen. Narrative-wise, I think it is better than average, though very obvious in places. The characters are largely likable (and then there is Zenitsu...). Well, I guess it was from that fight in the rotating house that I started to really enjoy it. The introduction of all the "Pillars" of the local demon-hunting organization and the whole (perfect) last episode even got me very excited and looking forward to the movie that is coming soon. So yes, I am definitely hooked. I am finding this anime series quite intriguing, and I would happily watch it again sometime soon just for some of the scenes alone. 8/10. (20/09/2021) (less) (more)